SPECIALTY SILICA MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Challenges And Opportunities

Global Speciality Silica Market - Drivers

• Growing adoption of specialty silica for chemical mechanical planarization/ polishing (CMP) in the electronics industry

The growing adoption of specialty silica for chemical mechanical planarization/ polishing (CMP) in the electronics industry is propelling the market growth of specialty silica. CMP is a polishing process that involves the removal of undesirable dielectric products on the surface of the silicon wafer. Specialty silica is broadly used in the manufacturing of flat, defect-free, and smooth surfaces on silicon semiconductors, optical lenses, and sapphire wafers in electronic goods. Moreover, increasing the application of specialty silica in oral care products is projected to propel market growth over the forecast timeframe. Silica is widely used as a cleaning and whitening agent in the manufacturing of various oral care products. High grade of specialty silica that is used in the dental application offers a high cleaning-to-abrasion ratio which is projected to raise its demand across oral care products. Therefore, rising application across oral care products is expected to fuel market growth.

• Rising demand from the personal care industry

Specialty silica is used as a functional ingredient in personal care products such as toothpaste, sunscreen, and cosmetics. For instance, the global beauty and personal care products market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.6% from 2022 to 2030 to reach US$ 972.7 billion by 2030.

Global Specialty Silica Market - Restraints

• High dependency on cyclical end-use industries

High dependency on cyclical end-use industries specialty silica is not a standalone finished product, instead, it is a consumable product that finds application across various end-use industries. Some of the end-use industries such as the automobile industry represent cyclical behavior in terms of demand, which in turn might affect demand for specialty silica. As a result of derived demand from the end-use industries, the growth, and profitability of the specialty silica market depend on the growth and profitability of end-user industries. This, in turn, could become a major challenge for market players operating in the global market. The major disadvantage of specialty silica filler is that it is very hard which leads to increased wear in polymer processing instruments. Moreover, the availability of cost-effective substitutes of silica gel and colloidal silica is also projected to restrict the market growth of specialty silica over the forecast period.

Global Specialty Silica Market - Market Opportunities

• Increasing the launch of novel and new silica for emerging applications is expected to propel the market growth of specialty silica. For instance, in August 2019, Evonik Business Line Silica launches a new specialty product, SPHERILEX 145, for the oral care industry. This product in oral care product will help to achieve high cleaning levels can be achieved while offering lower abrasion to dentin, enamel, fillings, and other oral hardware. Therefore, the rising launch of new silica products is expected to foster market growth.
• Rising investment by major players in improving the production of silica is expected to offer potential growth opportunities to the market of specialty silica. For instance, in April 2019, BASF announced to invest mid-range double-digit euro million sums in the modernization of its silica plant at the Düsseldorf-Holthausen site. The investment is earmarked for the modernization and enhancement of existing facilities in the later years to come. Such rising investment is projected to fuel the market growth of specialty silica over the forecast timeframe.